AUBURN, N.Y. — The opening of its first branch office in Onondaga County later this year is the first step of what Auburn Community Federal Credit Union’s (ACFCU) leader hopes will be several growth steps for the financial institution. A 2016 charter change allowed the credit union to offer membership to those who live, work, […]
AUBURN, N.Y. — The opening of its first branch office in Onondaga County later this year is the first step of what Auburn Community Federal Credit Union’s (ACFCU) leader hopes will be several growth steps for the financial institution.
A 2016 charter change allowed the credit union to offer membership to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Onondaga County. Since then, it has attracted about 500 members in the county, says Saverio (Sam) Scro, CEO of ACFCU.
“We’ve wanted to get into Onondaga County for closer to 10 years,” Scro says. The larger population in Onondaga County — more than 475,000 compared to about 75,000 in its home Cayuga County — offers the credit union a strong opportunity to grow, he notes.
ACFCU hired P.W. Campbell Contracting Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to conduct a study, with the Liverpool and North Syracuse areas scoring highly as possible locations. The credit union was looking for either an empty lot to build on or an easy-to-renovate existing building, Scro says.
While more consumers are using online and mobile banking, “It really is important to have a physical location,” he says. When it comes time to discuss a loan, for example, people still want to have those conversations in person, Scro contends.
ACFCU decided to buy the former M&T Bank branch building at 7538 Oswego Road in the town of Clay.
“We saw it was a former bank, so it’s got the canopy for drive-thrus, and it’s got plenty of parking,” Scro notes. About 28,000 cars drive by the location daily, and a traffic light makes for easy ingress and egress. “It did check all the boxes,” he says.
ACFCU purchased the property — containing a one-story, 3,100-square-foot building on 1.1 acres of land — from M&T Bank for $861,000 on Nov. 24, according to Onondaga County’s online property records.
William P. Evertz of Pyramid Brokerage Co. handled the transaction for the credit union while Joyce MacKnight, also of Pyramid, represented the bank. P.W. Campbell will oversee the project renovations.
While ACFCU hoped for a late spring opening, that has already been pushed back into summer, Scro notes. That is partly due to delays and hurdles caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult to line up the other companies needed for the renovations.
Once completed, the new branch will employ between five and 10 people, Scro says. ACFU’s Auburn branch manager will be moving to the Clay office, he notes, but the credit union will still be looking to hire several new employees. It currently has 19 total employees. Scro says he will use both traditional employment advertising as well as work with corporate headhunters to fill those positions.
Scro’s hope is that this branch will be just the first of multiple branches in Onondaga County. “Our goal is to open at least two more offices,” he says. ACFCU currently has its main branch and headquarters in Auburn as well as an office in the Weedsport area.
With additional Onondaga County branches, Scro believes the credit union could double its membership from nearly 7,900 to more than 15,000.
With $120 million in total assets, Auburn Community Federal Credit Union (www.auburnfcu.org) serves those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Cayuga, Onondaga, Oswego, and Madison counties.